Revenge of the Nerds
by thinkpink14148
Summary: Midterms are on Wednesday, recording with Tommy is in eighty minutes, the only problem is that Jude Harrison never saw what was coming straight at her inbetween...can you survive when you're held hostage? The hunters become the hunted at Carson High...
1. Chapter 1

The bell wrung through the building and doors slammed closed throughout the hallway. "Okay everyone" clapped Mr. M from the front of the chemistry room. The murmuring and muttering stopped as the class focused its attention to the front of the room where Mr. M stood behind his large lab bench desk. It was littered with rows of beakers and lab sheets. "As you all should be aware, this is your last class before midterms next week, and I have given you the day to go through the lab that will be 75 percent of your grade. Please note…" he emphasized, looking around the classroom full of Juniors "that the amounts and substances will be changed for the actual exam, so blind memorization will do you NO good". He paused again to look at them all "With that said the mathematics and theory do NOT change, so I suggest you study hard and work out the kinks before Wednesday. Now if you will make an orderly line. One set of chemicals per pair…" he waved and there was the instantaneous sound of stools scrapping across the linoleum and nervous feet moving up to the lab bench.

"I'll get it" Jude sighed, pushing back her stool as she stood up.

"No pink sparkly goggles" Jamie said looking up from his paper that he was already scribbling down notes on. He pointed at her as if to drive home his point, but she just rolled her eyes and filed into the line.

"Hey Jude…" came a voice from her left.

"What?" asked Jude whipping around, removing her eyes from Jamie in that instant. In doing so she banged into another person. "Ooh! Hey, sorry" Jude laughed quietly as she looked at one of the smartest kids in her class. He was a reserved kind of kid. Didn't talk much, and who constantly got made fun of for loving his graphing calculator more than girls. His lab partner was much in the same but Jude mostly stayed out of it. If the jocks wanted to poke fun at guys that would one day be their potential bosses she wasn't going to get in the middle of it. _No one else did_…

"_Hey right_" shot back the boy under his breath. Jude just blinked at him in shock. He had purple bags under his eyes as if he hadn't slept properly in the past week. Then again that could be contributed to studying. Everyone was cramming for midterms, and as being friends with Jamie proved, the smarter you are – the more desperate you become to get the perfect grade.

"Eighty minutes!" warned the teacher from the front of the room, and Jude moved to get what she and Jamie needed, but she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder at the boy again. His black sweatshirt hung around his thin frame, and he rubbed his arm through it as he sat down. Then his head slipped behind that of his lab partners as they seemed to whisper something into each other's ears.

"Ms. Harrison, please" came Mr. M's voice snapping her back to reality. Jude hurried forward, realizing she was last in line, and the only one not yet working.

"Sorry" Jude said quietly, feeling small in that classroom under his eyes.

"Look I don't want to fail you" Mr. M said seriously in a low voice so that only Jude could hear "You do have the ability to do this" he said honestly as he held out the chemicals, "_so just focus_". Jude stared at him for a moment and then nodded her head. "Good" he nodded as well and released the beakers into her hands.

Jude scurried back to her lab bench. She laid down the beakers unceremoniously and let Jamie franticly organize them as she climbed back up onto her stool. They both took a pair of goggles, and then her mind wondered. She looked to her left and noticed that her lab bench was right next to the two geniuses she had been watching seconds ago. Why had she never asked either of them for help? Was she retarded or something, they were right there and…

"Jude, please I need your help" Jamie said snapping her back to reality again.

"What, sorry" Jude said peeling her eyes away again.

"Hold this" Jamie pleaded a little frantically as he screwed in the holder.

"What even is this?" asked Jude as she gaped at the thing Jamie had taken all of three seconds to erect.

"Uh the same holder we've been using all year to heat up the substances over the Bunsen burner" Jamie muttered. The room was filled with the sounds of scratching pencils and muttering between lab partners.

"Right…" Jude nodded, remembering that this had always been Jamie's job. Build it. Do it. Explain it. She had no clue how to do anything. She felt a groan coming up her throat as it all dawned on her. She had been so consumed lately with writing and producing her second album, or trying to win Tommy over, or even just keep him interested for more than a minute at a time! That she had totally blown off most of this class. BUT recording had been going GREAT for the past two weeks! Tommy was so into the music she was making, and slowly she was starting to feel like she was winning over some new side of him. They had a recording session in what should have been twenty minutes, but _no_, her mother had made her finish at least third period. Which meant Chem was a necessity and then she would be nothing but his…

"Jude pass me that will you…" came Jamie's flustered voice as she realized he was already measuring out dry chemicals to add to their mix.

"Mhmm" Jude said trying to focus as she reached over to pass the beaker by her elbow to him. The beaker made it. On the other hand her binder went sprawling onto the floor. "_Shit_" Jude sighed, pushing away from the lab bench and getting down on her hands and knees. She moved her goggles off her eyes and onto the top of her head as she tried to gather all the scattered papers.

Some of them had fluttered under the next lab bench and she reached for them, hoping that her burning cheeks weren't giving her away too much. Not only did everyone in this class basically know she was failing – they hated her for being who she was. Famous and still in high school? Losers shouldn't jump the social line. Any of the cheerleaders would have put her in her place if they could. But they couldn't sing so they just had to imagine how much better they'd be if they could be her.

One of the papers was next to the backpack under the lab bench. She watched as the legs on the stool next to her tensed and then looked at her under the desk.

"_Sorry…papers_" she muttered, grabbing more of them. The boy just stared at her wide eyed. What was his name? Her hand brushed the backpack again and he leaned down and put it in his lap. "Sorry…" she whispered again and then went back to her seat as fast as she could. She didn't look over at them. She didn't look anywhere but at the chemicals Jamie was adding to the boiling water. She had no clue what he had done – she was going to fail Wednesday…_oh god_.

There was the rattling of glass from behind as a bag unzipped. Jude paid to no heed like everyone else in the room. Instead she tried to help Jamie. "Stir this" Jamie said sensing her sudden ability to help.

"Okay" Jude nodded taking a deep breath and hoping that she could do even this mediocre task without failing miserably.

"And don't worry about James and Thebes over there either" Jamie added in a whisper, so close to Jude's ear that no one else could hear "They've been being strange for the past few weeks…"

"All I did was bump into…" started Jude in a whisper as well. Jamie looked her in the face and shrugged as he rolled his eyes. And maybe that's just how people were when they were used to being bullied all the time. Even a single bump could set them off.

"Just don't feed into their delusion" Jamie sighed under his breath. Jude nodded silently and they both turned back to what they should be doing.

"_I'm telling you ten milligrams will do it_" hissed a voice.

"Ms. Harrison! Goggles!" boomed Mr. M. Jude's cheeks burned red as she pulled them back down over her eyes. "Must I remind you all once again that…" started Mr. M for the whole class to hear.

Jude glanced over her shoulder at the two boys. Of coarse Jamie knew their names. They were the only two people worth fighting the spot of Valedictorian for in this school. Jude stared at their substance which was now an electric blue color. Surprised she looked down at hers and Jamie's…which was clear.

"Hey Jamie is ours supposed to…" started Jude, as she turned to look at Jamie. At that moment her elbow hit the beaker off the holder and shattered on the floor.

The whole class froze and looked at Jude who stood their stunned, hands up, looking at the shattered glass on the floor.

"Move!" Mr. M said frantically. "Anyone have it on them!" he boomed, looking at Jude, Jamie, James, and Thebes.

"Sir I didn't add the Chloride yet" Jamie said quickly.

"Thank god" Mr. M said, placing his hand over his forehead and then at Jude. "Pick this up Ms. Harrison". She could tell instantly that he was pissed. "Mr. Andrews kindly break down your set up and look on with another group for the end of the experiment. Then he moved onto another group.

"I'm sorry" Jude breathed looking over at Jamie's frustrated face.

"Jude…" he started. Then he stopped and took a deep breath "look I just really needed this to prepare, I'll break this down, clean that up…" He was pissed too, that much was obvious.

Jude nodded anyway. How could this day get any worse? She could just imagine the rumors that would circulate the school next period. '_Yeah you know that Jude Harrison chick? Dumb blonde doesn't even begin to cover it. It's a wonder she can hold a guitar the right way without being told how_…'

Jude got down on her hands and knees and started picking up the shards of glass carefully. She glanced up at the smirking faces every once in a while, tying to block out the rumors forming on their lips. Then as she glanced up again she noticed the backpack back under the lab bench right next to the stool that Thebes was sitting on. The same boy she had bumped into, whom had snatched away the bag with haste, who had that electric blue substance.

The bag shifted as the stool moved, and the unzipped main compartment exposed the contents within. A glint of sharp silver caught her eyes so that she froze their on the ground. The glass in her hand remained suspended there as she couldn't breathe, couldn't peel her eyes away, couldn't move from the paralyzing fear washing over her. _It was a gun_.

Jude ripped her eyes away and looked at the mess still around her. She went to stand when Jamie suddenly appeared at her side. "Here use these to wipe it up" he said in a calmer voice than before. "Look I didn't mean to snap at you…" Jamie started in a whisper as he started wiping up the liquid along with the shards of glass.

"Jamie we've got to get out of here…" Jude started to hiss as quietly as she could. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest.

"…I was just stressed out about exams and…"

"Shut up Jamie!" Jude muttered harshly so that he paused and looked at her wide eyes.

"J what's…"

"Twenty minutes everyone!" called Mr. M from the front of the room.

"There's a gun…" Jude muttered under the cover of Mr. M's voice.

"What?" asked Jamie, obviously not hearing her. He looked confused. "Gum?" he asked.

"_Gun_" Jude whispered so softly she barely heard it as she trembled.

"Mr. Andrews, Ms. Harrison is there something wrong?" called Mr. M, taking a step towards them. And then it happened. With a swift motion Thebes' hand reached down and went into the bag.

"GUN!" someone screamed across the room and everyone looked up in time to see Thebes point it at Mr. M's chest – aim – and fire.

The room erupted in screams as everyone watched Mr. M stumble back, clutching his blood red chest, hit his desk, and slid to the floor.

"No one move!" Thebes yelled as the room looked at him in horror "No one _move_". The gun moved over the length of the room as Thebes looked everyone in the eyes, that seemed even more bloodshot as Jude looked at them trembling. The glass fell from her hands with a rain of pings. The gun was instantly on her. "_I said don't move_" he hissed.

Jude whimpered as the gun remained pointed straight at her chest. "_Please_…" she pleaded "Please don't shoot me, _please_". Jamie's hands were next to hers as they both looked up at the gun in horror.

"Thebes put it away…please man" Jamie said holding up is hands as if to surrender "He's not dead…" he added glancing at Mr. M who was shuddering in the front of the room. They both watched Thebes eyes flash to Mr. M. In that moment Jamie lost his balance and fell back against their lab bench. His hand collided with the gas line to their Bunsen burner and suddenly the gas started to spew into the air. James jumped up instantly and Thebes did the same. They moved away from their still bubbling experiment. The class watch confused and horrified as the gun still remained clasped in Thebes hand. That was, everyone _but_ Jamie watched. Instead his eyes were on the blue substance.

"Shit! Move!" Jamie yelled throwing Jude under their lab bench as he stood up to turn off the gas spewing into the air, but it was too late, Thebes and James's lab bench exploded.

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**Author Note:**

**What started out as a one shot quickly grew into a 14 page short story. I couldn't resist and I promise (Between You and Me fans) that I'm getting back to my main story - just had to get this out of my system. I credit ER for the inspirtaion, though it really had nothing to do with what I ended up writing. Hope you all like this little treat!**

**Like my style? Check out my other stories including my current story "Between You and Me", praised sequal of "Secrets and the Lies I Told Him". Thanks!**

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	2. Chapter 2

The room became a puff of gray smoke as screams and moans filled the air. Jude's hands were clamped firmly over her head but she could feel the trickle of something running down her hairline. Most of all though, she could feel a heavy weight on top of her. She tried to move, but every muscle screamed.

"Jamie" she choked out, pushing herself up onto her elbows. She waved away the smoke as more screams filled the air.

"Lock the door!" came Thebes yells through the classroom. "Everyone down! I said get down!" screamed Thebes again, and Jude could only imagine the gun as it waved over the sea of students. How many more were hurt? How many were…_dead_?

That's when she realized it wasn't rubble on her but…Jamie. "Oh god" her screams rang out in unison with countless others. How many had just found their friends the same way she just had. "Jamie, JAMIE!" Jude screamed.

"I said SHUT UP!" Thebes yelled! "SHUT UP!"

Jude rolled Jamie over, so that his face was looking up at the underside of the lab bench. His glasses were cracked, but his chest was rising and falling as the gray dust settled over all of them. The florescent lights started to make their way through the explosion and Thebes and James seemed to be the only ones to have escaped unscathed. Jude's eyes searched Jamie frantically. Angry red burns arced across the side of his face and on one of his arms. Then sticking out for his calf was a shard of glass. Not some shard off the ground from the fallen beaker but rather a projectile that pierced through his skin as if it wasn't even there. It was a glass stirring rod used on extremely hot mixtures…of coarse James and Thebes would have known that. Not to mention the blood pooling on the floor around the two of them.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god" Jude whimpered as she looked at it longer. Then there was a gasp for air and Jamie's eyes shot open. He looked up at Jude horrified. "Jamie!" Jude cried under her breath as joy overwhelmed her system. She pulled him into one of the most desperate hugs of her life. "Oh thank god", but he pushed her off and she looked down at him intently.

His chest rose and fell rapidly as if he was trying to find the air to speak "Th…that…that was…was…hydro….hydro….hydrochloric acid…"

"Jamie I don't know what that means…" Jude stammered as quietly as she could. Every word that was leaving his rattling lips seemed to cause him great pain.

"Don't…don't breathe…breathe it…it in" Jamie said, shaking from head to toe uncontrollably.

"You're bleeding. You're bleeding" Jude whimpered looking at the pool of blood getting bigger. "Tell me what to do, help!" Jude begged as she looked at Jamie glance down as he continued to shake uncontrollably.

"It's the art…artery…" he grimaced in pain as he clenched his teeth.

"I don't, I don't know what that means!" Jude begged again. And then without anything more Jamie's hands were ripping at her shirt, pulling it up. "Jamie…" stammered Jude as his hands started to undo her belt. "Jamie!" Jude hissed. She had seen desperate but…

"Make…make a tunicate" Jamie begged "With your belt…_please_". Jude's eyes widened, before she ripped off her studded belt and she started wrapping it around Jamie's thigh. She pulled it as tight as she could, hoping to god this is what he had meant.

"EVERYONE!" yelled Thebes "Come out! Get in a line!"

"You crazy son of a bitch…" started to scream one of the guys. Another gun shot went off. Jude clasped her hands over her ears as everyone screamed. Jude looked to her right and saw three other people huddled under a lab bench.

"Anyone else have a problem with what I'm asking?" asked an all too calm voice for the situation. Jude was shaking she was so scared, and then to her horror she watched the boy from the lab bench to her right, stand up with his hands up. The two girls with him had tears streaming down their faces as they did the same.

"We'll do what you say" the boy quivered "Just don't shoot man, please, don't shoot". Then they disappeared from view. Jude shook as she looked down at Jamie. She couldn't move him. He was loosing too much blood, but other people were surfacing from their safe places and Jude stood up slowly as well.

"Jamie. He's hurt" Jude choked as she held up her hands, praying to god they wouldn't shoot. She was covered in the dust. Others were as well. Blood trickled down faces and clothing. "Please, Thebes he needs help, you guys knew each other and…" tried Jude.

"SHUT UP!" Thebes yelled, pointing the gun at her again.

Jude squeezed her eyes shut in pure fear. She was shaking and she waited for the bullet to rip through her body. "Please" she whimpered "He lost so much blood…" Her eyes opened to watch more people move out into the open as shaken as she was.

"Screw this…" one of the lead jock said, dashing for the door. The gun turned so fast and fired with a deafening crack. Everyone screamed again as the boy crumpled to the floor lifeless.

"If anyone runs again…" Thebes said through gritted teeth, passing the gun over all of them. The threat was left open ended, before he added "Everyone…sit! Hands on your heads where I can see them!" Jude quivered on the spot "YOU TOO!" he screamed, and she rushed around, crying instantly as she walked away from Jamie. Once they were all on the floor, sitting Indian style, so close together that their knees touched, Thebes waved James to look around.

He walked silently around the back of the benches checking for people. Then forced another big jock to his feet to move, who everyone knew, was his best friend in front of the door. And that's how they all came to know he was dead. Mr. M was moved next in front of the other door.

"You want to leave" James hissed "You have to climb over their dead bodies", and that's how they all came to know that Thebes had the gun, but James was just a big a threat.

The girl next to Jude was shaking so hard it was causing Jude to shake with her. "Why is no one coming for us" she whimpered.

"Shhh" Jude begged. She couldn't stand that gun pointing at her again. "Shhh" she begged again. But Jude knew the real answer in her head. The rest of the school was evacuated. It had started from the first gun shot. Then the explosion had made it definite. She could hear the police cars couldn't everyone else. The fire trucks? The ambulances all congregating in the back parking lot…three floors down.

Jude wanted to cry. They were hostages three floors up in a high school. There were two killers holding them at bay. Two dead already. One dying as they held them there. Then there was a horrible sound of crunching glass. Jude looked over her shoulder to see James dragging Jamie out from under the lab bench.

"Don't touch him you sick bastards!" The words didn't come from Jude's lips, but from across the room. Jude watched the scrawniest boy glare at Thebes and James. Thebes looked at the boy with wonder, then cocked the gun.

"Funny you should say that Alan" Thebes said with a evil smile, that didn't reach his eyes "Because of all people I thought you'd understand why we did this…"

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**Author Note:**

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	3. Chapter 3

She was late. Twenty-three minutes to be exact. Tommy huffed loudly and spun around in his chair. Then with one fluid motion he stood up and wrenched open the door of Studio A.

"Hey has anyone seen Jude!" Tommy called out angrily as he descended the stairs, he looked around the core. He slowed as he noticed everyone congregated around the multiple TV monitors set up near the couches. Every single one of them was tuned into the same news station as the workers stared at them in horror. "What's going on…hey come on" Tommy said pushing his way through so that he could see the TV.

"Toronto police have now been outside Carson High for the past forty-five minutes trying to rescues a class of students held hostage by their own peers. It has been reported that a total of nine shots have gone off so far. Nearly all the school has been evacuated except the third floor where accessing the stairwells has become impossible. Those classrooms on the North side of the building have been evacuated via fire truck ladders but the south side where the Chemistry room, held ransom, is can not be accessed safely officials say".

A groan of horror filled the core as people shook their heads thunderstruck. "What makes a kid snap like that?" came a whisper through the crowd. But Tommy could barely hear. It was like being under water.

Carson High? That's where Jude was. Chemistry? God damit! What did she say was making her late? A practice exam…a lab…_oh god_. "Jude" Tommy breathed and then he was shoving his way back out. Employees watched him confused, but he didn't look back. Instead he ran full speed for the glass doors. His feet pounded the pavement and he barely had the door closed on his Viper before he peeled out of the parking lot on the way to the school he prayed to god he'd find her outside of.

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**Author Note:**

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	4. Chapter 4

"Do you know why we're doing this?" came Thebes' sinister voice.

"Because you've completely lost your fucking minds" spat one of the boys in the class. His name was Mark. He was nothing special. And at that moment Jude realized how sad it was that she had paid so little heed to any of these kids all these years. She had known them since preschool…but how well did they _really_ know each other?

"Thank you for volunteering to help" Thebes said, so that James wrenched Mark to his feet.

"Whoa you sick bastards I didn't do anything" yelled Mark struggling in James surprisingly strong grasp.

"That's right" Thebes said walking forward menacingly, getting right up in Mark's face, "You didn't do _anything_" and then he punched him in the gut, so that he contracted forward in pain.

"I'll get the duct tape" James said, and made his way off towards the backpack that seemed to have caused all the issues so far. All eyes followed him as if hoping 'duct tape' was code for a 'get out of jail free card'. But instead it was the usual silver bonding tape it always was. "You know what Thebes, I don't think there's enough" James smirked surveying everyone in front of them.

"I think you're right James" Thebes agreed with a rehearsed manner.

"Well ladies first then" James said sickeningly. He lunged forward and grabbed Katie's hands. Jude recognized her instantly from her curly brown hair and tears streaming down her face. She was one of the girls in the lab bench to her right. Jude squeezed her eyes shut as if that would block out the screams as James bound her wrists together behind her back.

"Sickos!" coughed Mark, as he gasped for air still, and looked up at Thebes.

"Good your turn" James said tossing him the tape.

"You do your own dirty work" Mark said through gritted teeth. Thebes raised the gun to Marks temple and he pursed his lips instantly.

"_You'll do what we tell you to do_…"

* * *

**Author Note:**

**Will they be rescued? Or will they have to save themselves? Stay tuned and find out!!!!**

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	5. Chapter 5

Outside was chaos. "Get out of the way!" Tommy yelled running through the crowd, shoving his way through to the front.

"Please!" sobbed a desperate mother at the police barricade "You have to save her please!"

"Ma'am we're doing everything we can. I'm going to need you to take a step back and let us do our job, and we'll tell you when we…"

"She's fifteen! Fifteen! Please she's not even in the room. Get her down! Get her down!" sobbed the woman again.

"Ma'am the room is in shooting range. We attempt a rescue and she, or the crew could be shot" tried to reason the police man again.

"You've got to be doing something thought!" Tommy yelled looking three stories up. Which room was it even? Would there be bullet hole in the glass? Dead bodies on the pavement? Jude hanging out a window begging for mercy…

"Sir I assure you we are doing everything in our power to retrieve the children safely and…"

"Well apparently your 'everything' is good enough!" yelled Tommy, not knowing where his anger was coming from. It seemed like a fire had lit itself in the pit of his stomach, making him go crazy. He needed to see her…know she was all right.

"Sir I must ask you to step away" glared the police officer.

And for a moment Tommy thought of barging through the barricade at the police officer. When instead, another shot was fired and the whole crowd bellow started to cry even harder.

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**Author Note:**

**Who was that? Stay tuned and find out!!!**

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	6. Chapter 6

The gun rang through the air and whimpers escaped the girl's lips, as they squeezed their eyes closed. Each and every one of them had their hands duct taped behind their backs. Their line was the only perfect thing amongst the smoldering remains of a classroom. All the fine gray dust had settled but the bullet stirred up some of the debris.

"We're out of tape" James said handing Thebes the roll. They all watched trembling as Thebes eyes roamed over the crowd. Why had they left the boys unbound? Weren't they the greater threat?

Thebes dropped the empty shells to the ground, and Jude watched Mark watch them in slow motion. He wasn't bound together, and while apologizing profusely, he had been forced to bind half of their hands. Jude being one of them.

"_Grip your arms_" he had hissed so quietly and fast, if she hadn't been listening, she might have missed it. Now as her arms hung more relaxed, she noticed that the tape budged ever so slightly under her shifting wrists. If given time she might have the chance to slide out her wrist or…

"You know what I think we should do" Thebes said extracting a new clip of bullets from his pocket. _How had no one noticed the bullets in his pockets_. He had that evil smile on his face again. As if this was something horribly amusing. "I have five bullets in this gun" he said cocking it. Everyone's eyes were on it again. "And there are seven teenage boys in this room…"

Everyone's breathing was getting faster as people's eyes darted between the boys. What was Thebes going to do next? Did either of them even have a plan, or were they just winging it? "I'm going to give you a five second head start…" Thebes voice cut in through Jude's thoughts. "Run as fast as you can to the stairwell…_five_ will die…_one_ will get away…"

"There's seven of us moron, you said it yourself" spat the only other big jock in the room after the first one was shot. "Forgive me if I'm wrong but last time I checked five and one equal six. Then again maybe your superior intellect…" ranted the boy.

Jude squeezed her eyes shut. _Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!_ She cursed in her head. _Don't provoke him! Don't provoke him!_ But there was the tell tale sound of metal clicking into place as the boy's voice faded.

"See this is why I never liked you" Thebes hissed, pressing the gun to the jocks temple "You think you're better than everyone just because you can throw a fucking baseball".

"Better than being in love with my calculator" spat the boy, quivering under the gun, with fire burning in his eyes none the less.

"_I'm going to kill you all_" Thebes whispered, and then the gun went off. Nearly everyone screamed, as the boy fell backwards. Dead before he hit the floor. "Anyone else have any questions?"

* * *

**Author Note:**

**Run, run, as fast as you can...you can't catch me I'm the....**

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	7. Chapter 7

It was sickening to watch, and girls were sobbing as the reaming six boys were forced to their feet. The door opened and held at bay with the gun as James lined the boys up…like some sick version of an execution line. Which Jude realized as she watched it – it very much so was.

"On your mark…" Thebes snickered, cocking the gun.

"Get set…" James echoed, taking a step back so that there was nothing but empty hallway before the six guys all eyeing the stairwell on the far end.

"Go!" Thebes hissed and it was sickening. They shoved each other out of the way almost instantaneously. "One…two…" Thebes counted off loudly "_three_" and the gun shots started to go off.

"NO!" screamed a girl sobbing as she struggled against the tape "You said five! You said five!" she sobbed. We all looked away as we heard thuds…and we knew not who had fallen…and who was lucky enough to get away. But just as it seemed like it had all been for nothing there was a loud bang. Metal on metal, and half of the girls looked at each other in shock.

_It was a door_…some one had gotten out. In the commotion Jude started to struggle with the tape. It was tight but she could wiggle her arms slightly, and she prayed that it was Mark who had made it out. The one person who had done anything productive for their safety the whole time they were trapped. How many other girls had loose bonds as well…

"_They left us_…" choked the girl next to Jude again "_Oh god they left us_…"

"You know what they'll do next" whispered a girl, her hair hanging down over her face. She was trembling from head to toe. Her eyes wide as her mind fathomed all the things crazy people do. They all swallowed, shaking harder. The boys would come back in through that door any second. And the only people left besides the line of girls were two dead jocks, a dead teacher, and an unconscious boy. They were the last bit of the game, Jude thought to herself as a whimper left her lips. And right then death didn't seem as bad as the alternative.

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**Author Note:**

**Dun dun dunnnnn!!!! Stay tuned and find out who made it out alive!**

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	8. Chapter 8

The doors burst open and gun reared on the person instantly. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" screamed a boy, trembling from head to toe.

"We've got a victim" radioed in a cop close enough to Tommy for him to hear. Everyone was looking desperately to see who it was. There were desperate cries as mothers looked for more students to come running out. And to Tommy's dismay – no flash of blonde darted out into the safe arms of an officer. Instead a teenage boy with blood dried on his t-shirt stood there, looking ready to collapse.

"That's my son!" yelled a man, barging through the crowd and across the barrier.

"Sir I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside and…" started a cop.

"You let me see my son you son of a bitch!" yelled the man, fighting his way past the cop.

"Alan!" screamed the mother, wrapping the boy in her arms. "Oh thank god" she sobbed.

"What happened?" interrogated one of the officers instantly.

Alan pulled out of his mother's grasp and looked up three stories. Tommy followed his gaze, watching him pinpoint the room he had just been trapped in…_where Jude was trapped_.

"He lost it…" Alan stammered, shaking his head "Thebes and James have a gun. They're killing everyone who stands in their way. They…" he said swallowing in fear "they lined us up and made us _run_ for the stairs…"

"Are you the only one!" one of the cops cut in.

"I wasn't going to make it they just started shooting and then…" his voice trailed off.

"Yes" the cop pressured.

Alan looked up slowly "I heard them falling…I wasn't even first…but they stopped…"

"He ran out of bullets?" asked the cop with a hint of hope suddenly in his voice.

Alan shook his head and the hope faded "…they just didn't shoot me…"

"Oh sweetie" the mother sobbed holding him again. Tommy watched the boy's blank expression, as if he couldn't believe he was really alive.

"Do you know why they didn't…" started the cop.

Alan looked him square in the face "Because I know what it's like to be the butt end of a joke too" he paused "the difference is I don't fix it by shooting a room full of my peers…"

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**Author Note:**

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	9. Chapter 9

They raped two of them in the supply closet. They could all hear them screaming. It was so disgusting and revolting to listen to the screams that Jude wanted nothing more than to throw up right then and there.

"Huh! Wouldn't bang this if your life depended on it! Huh!" Thebes had screamed at one of the girls as he had wrenched her to her feet. They all had been frozen to the spot. No one wanted to voice an opinion and end up in their hands instead. And as sickening as it all was, Jude knew they were all thinking the same things – _thank god that isn't me_.

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**Author Note:**

**What will they stoop to next? Where is the line...when you have nothing left to loose?**

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	10. Chapter 10

It was getting dark. The 2:10 bell had rung as if some kind of sick joke. Though Jude didn't deny that for a moment she expected them all to pick up their bags and go home, then perhaps resume this hostel situation tomorrow. But that's not how real life works, you just can't switch of reality. The two boys were sitting in the front of the classroom behind the desk. The shadows under their eyes getting darker as the gun glinted in the last of the fading sunlight. It was dead silent. They were all staring at the floor shaking. Waiting for the next twisted move either of the boys would make.

Then there was a distinctive moan, and heads shot around to look at the boy as he stirred on the floor. Thebes was on his feet instantly, circling around them with the gun pointed down.

"Don't move!" he warned all the girls as they watched him walk over to Jamie, who was shaking hard, his limbs twisting in agony. Thebes nudged him with his foot.

"Don't touch him!" Jude sobbed, as tears started to trace down her cheeks uncontrollably.

Thebes glanced at Jude and then snickered "Oh man" he sighed looking over at James "We should have banged you – _famous Jude Harrison_…"

Jude pursed her lips together, shaking harder. "Thebes we agreed…" James warned as he looked at Jude with lust.

"Agreed what? That just because she was famous you wouldn't kill her!" shouted out one of the girls, her voice hysterical.

Jude blushed hoping the words weren't true. Her life wasn't any better than any of theses people's….

"Jude…" moaned Jamie, his eyes fluttering open. Then his teeth gritted in pain as he shook harder.

"It's the femoral artery" James said walking around the lab bench. "Dude he wasn't supposed to die" he added staring Thebes in the eyes.

"Who cares it's life as it is" Thebes said, though Jude noticed a pang of guilt for the first time in his voice.

"Just let him go please…he needs medical help" Jude begged, hoping this was all of their chance to get out.

"What just let you all waltz out?" laughed Thebes looking at her as if she had just sprouted another head "The SWAT team will be through those windows in ten seconds if I let you all go…"

"He's dying" Jude begged again.

"Carry him out" one of the girls shot out. "Let three or four of us carry him down to the paramedics outside".

Thebes glared at her, before James caught his eye. There seemed to be a silent war waging between the two of them before Thebes rounded his gun on the girl "_Two_ people".

Suddenly there was tension in the air like none before. Two people would be walking out that door in a second. The only question that remained was who…

"You" Thebes said grabbing Jude by the hair and ripping her to her feet. Jude felt her heart flutter. Was she one of the people… She looked around frantically at the other girls. Would there only be one more girl chosen. "You two" he said waving his gun between the two girls on the end "You carry him down…" A dry sob instantly escaped Jude's lips as Thebes held her tighter. "Oh don't worry sweet thing I have a special task for you" he cooed. His breath was hot on her throat like he was about to take a bite of her.

James cut the tape and the two girls rushed over to Jamie. "Not yet!" James warned as they leaned down to pick him up. "We want food" he said to Thebes. Thebes nodded and then he dragged Jude over to the window.

Jude could feel the tears tracing down her cheeks as he cut her bonds. What was he going to do? Throw her out onto the pavement below? Shoot her for all to see?

"Open it" he seethed. "OPEN IT!" Jude's hands fumbled with the latch before she threw open the window and looked down at the sea of people below. He shoved her forward so that her hips collided with the window sill. She heard audible gasps from below. Thebes held her there, his hand pressed against her lower back, so that it seemed at any moment he could throw her out. Jude gripped the windowsill with her sweaty palms, the metal cutting into her palms.

But that's when she realized the full gravity of what Thebes and James were doing. It was an exchange, not a release, and she realized she was going to be the communicator for much of it. She glanced to her left to see Thebes behind the concrete wall between the two large glass windows. Each pane opened like the one she was leaning out of. Three large panes, then a concrete wall, three large panes, concrete wall…

"Tell them we're letting three of the hostages go" Thebes hissed, making sure he was out of range from below.

"They…" Jude's hoarse voice tried to shout.

"LOUDER!" Thebes yelled, shoving her, so that she gripped the sill harder. She trembled in terror.

"They're letting three hostages go!" she screamed down. Instantly there was noise from below, as the crowd called out names of people in the room.

"We've already decided" Thebes hissed.

"They've already decided!" Jude screamed down as the police officers hushed the crowd.

"We want food and water…" continued Thebes.

"They want food and water…" Jude shouted.

"…In return for the three hostages…"

"In return for the hostages" Jude continued to echo for Thebes.

"Also…" Thebes added "Two sleeping bags and pillows…"

"And two sleeping bags and pillows" Jude yelled.

"Thebes? James?" Called a police officer from below with a megaphone "Can we please talk to you?"

"Tell them you're as close as they get" Thebes said shoving her again.

A scream erupted from Jude none the less as she pitched forward. The crowd screamed as well as they expected her to fall just as she had. "They…they said I have to do" sobbed Jude.

"Please lets talk this out…" the police man tried again.

"_Talk_" Thebes snorted and so did James "Who wanted to _talk_ when I got beat up every other day by jocks? Who wanted to _talk_ when my lunch was shoved out of my hands? Who wanted to _talk_ when…" his voice trailed off "Tell them that if they wanted to talk then they should have _listened_…"

"They…they won't talk" Jude yelled down "They said you all should have listened". It seemed as if the world had fallen dead silent at her words. And Jude's chest heaved as she tried to breathe, and calm her racing heart.

"We can work this out…both of you…" the police man tried in a calmer voice.

"_We've already done that ourselves_…" Thebes whispered to himself.

"We can help you…as long as you let _all_ the hostages out…"

"_So they ca lock us away for life_?" asked Thebes in the same whisper as before.

"You don't need to be afraid…_We can help_" the police officer's voice continued up through the chilling night air.

Jude quivered as she waited for what Thebes would tell her to say next. His eyes were closed, breathing slowly, before he cocked the gun and pressed it to her temple. Jude whimpered.

"_Pain_" Thebes whispered so that the room could hear "is relative they say" He paused, "_Just ignore it and it'll go away_. _If you don't provoke them they won't bully you_" he paused again "It's been _eleven _years…and _still_ nobody will sit at my lunch table…" And at that moment he stepped in front of the window, holding Jude with the gun to her head.

"Shoot me!" he screamed at the top of his lungs "I DARE YOU! All you fucking bastards that would NEVER listen! Are you listening now! Will you listen to her when she…" And just as the words slipped from his lips, his eyes grew wide and his hold on Jude slackened. He stumbled back, clutching his chest. Lips turning blue as his shirt turned red, just as fast as the shot had rang through the twilight. And then he fell…the gun…clattering to the floor beside him.

No one moved. Everyone just stared as the shaking mass on the floor before James took two steps forward, swooped down to pick up the gun, pressed it to his head "_Bye_" and pulled the trigger. And then…_there was silence_.

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**Author Note:**

**...**

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	11. Chapter 11

The crowd was in such a state of shock that many missed the swarm of SWAT team members moving into the building. They scaled the three flights of stairs only to come face to face with eight girls, two supporting a teenage boy whose leg looked worse than some car accident victims. The piece of glass was still stuck there, and they all held up their hands at the sight of their guns.

They looked mortified and shaken at even the sight of them "Weapons down" ordered the head SWAT person, all the guns shifting downward and unengaged. "The second shot…" the leader asked.

"They're both dead" a blonde answered from the end of the hall. She was taking much of the weight of the young man she was supporting. "Please…" her voice cracked "…_help us_".

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**Author Note:**

**We find strength in the times in which we feel we can give no more...**

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	12. Chapter 12

It was like walking through a fog Jude realized as they were all escorted from the building. There were nine people walking out from the hell hole they had been trapped in. Plus a class of twenty five students right next door that had never been evacuated. They were all trembling as well. How much had they heard? How much had they seen?

Jude felt like she was frozen to that slab of pavement, as she looked around in a daze. Was she really out? Reporters were everywhere. Ambulances pulled away, parting the crowd like Moses at the sea. But this was no miracle – this was a plague. Jude felt the same sickening feeling in her throat as she bit down the vomit in her throat.

"Jude!" came a yell from yards away. But it sounded like he was on the shore and she was sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Regardless she looked around, only to see a blur of a creature running towards her.

The world tipped as the words slipped out "_Tommy_…?"

"Oh god" the creature breathed.

And Jude's heart skipped a beat as she folded into the arms that collided with her. He held her hard to his chest. Cradling her head in his hands – rubbing her back as she started to sob.

"Tommy" Jude sobbed, as he held her tighter.

"Shhh" he begged as he rocked her in his arms.

"I love you, god I love you" she shot out not even thinking. She was seventeen, but it didn't matter. The words just flowed from her lips. And the man did not tense beneath her grasp as she spilled out her soul on the pavement. He just held her. And she knew she shouldn't expect it back. She knew that it would just be another thing against the law to be said that day.

"…_I know_" came from his lips instead, which then folded down and sealed it with a kiss on the crown of her head. Because there was no safer place then within the folds of Tommy's arms.

* * *

**Author Note:**

**Jude and Tommy just friends? Please, that's like saying hydrogen doesn't want to bond with oxygen. H2O baby there's a reason there's an abundance...because you can't live without it.**

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	13. Chapter 13

Cray paper and candles littered the front steps of Carson High. Photographs in black frames or just placed amongst the sea of flowers. Every single face that was not there any more - staring back at them through the night. Jude shoved her hands deeper into her black leather jacket, feeling the chill of the night despite having on jeans and a scarf as well. It was a cold you couldn't shake – knowing you were the lucky one.

Students were everywhere, and it seemed as if everyone from her grade was there as well. Hadn't they been hit the hardest? Hadn't they lost the most? Despite everything that was numbing her Jude could still feel the slick paper beneath her fingers. It was a photograph in her pocket – dug out from a shoe box long forgotten. She ran her fingers through her hair once before stepping through her peers and laying down the picture next to a crumpled piece of paper. It seemed a poor memorial next to the extravagance of roses and hand made cards.

But she leaned the photograph against the candle, and tucked the paper underneath so that it wouldn't fly away. Then slowly she stepped back amongst the hundreds gathered. She didn't have to read the words to know what it said on that paper. She had scribbled it down the second Tommy had gotten her into his Viper – never letting go of his firm grip on her hand. Never letting her slip away to where he couldn't protect her.

"…_Pain_ is relative they say. _Just ignore it and it'll go away_. _If you don't provoke them they won't bully you_. Yet it's been _eleven _years…and _still_ nobody will sit at my lunch table…"

"I'm sorry" Jude whispered, as she turned. Anyone would have taken it as a polite way to remove themselves before they burst into tears, but rather Jude meant it for the photograph she had lain down. It was of her and Jamie, arms slung around each other laughing in sixth grade. His two friends standing there just the same – happy and full of life, neither wielding a gun to their head. No one sees a killer in their peers. Thebes and James had been Jamie's friends, and perhaps for a moment that had saved her own life. Maybe someone paying attention for even a minute could have changed things. And Jude wished as she walked away, off towards Tommy's car waiting for her on the road, that she could have paid attention…that she could have _listened_.

* * *

**Author Note:**

**The End**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed. If you haven't dropped a review yet PLEASE do so now! Love all kinds of feedback. And if you're thirsting for more, and LOTS of Jommy then check out my one shot - "Think", or my two main stories "Secrets and the Lies I Told Him" and the LOVED sequel "Between You and Me". Can you say DRAMA? Hope to hear from you all! Thanks!!!**

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	14. Chapter 14

The door slammed closed to the Viper, and Jude pulled down her seatbelt in the passenger seat silently. It seemed as if the humming of the running engine was the only thing able to make noise. She didn't look at him – maybe because she was afraid to see the same fright in his eyes from earlier. Or maybe it was because she was afraid what he would see back in hers.

_Buzzz_…They both jumped. Jude clutched her forehead before tearing her cell phone out of her pocket. She flipped it open instantly "Dad I'm fine" Jude breathed.

"I'm on my way home. Me, your mother, and Sadie are on the first flight back…" rushed out her father.

"Dad I'm fine" Jude breathed again, her hand sliding down her face as if it took too much effort to hold it there.

"Were you in the classroom…" rushed on Stuart.

"Yes" Jude whispered. The line went silent. "I said I was fine" Jude whispered, knowing the horrorstruck expression probably on her father's face rendering him silent.

"Jude we'll…we'll be there as soon as we can…the house…" stammered Stuart as he couldn't finish a sentence.

"Dad" Jude cut in "I'm just going to spend the night at Kat's".

"Okay, okay" Stuart agreed "That's better than you being home alone and…"

"Dad I'll be fine" and with that Jude hung up. Tommy watched her body fold back into the seat – as if every last ounce of energy had been drained from her body.

"You want me to drop you off?" sighed Tommy, he was staring at her and he knew that if she looked over at him he wouldn't be able to hide it – it was etched all over his face. But she didn't look. Instead she just stared down at her phone in her lap. Tommy swallowed and went to turn back towards the steering wheel when her eyes looked over at him. And he couldn't move.

"_Please_" Jude whimpered, her eyes filling with tears "_Don't leave_…"

Tommy blinked at her expression and undid his seatbelt so fast. He had her in his arms and she sobbed into his shoulder as if everything building up inside just spilled out again. After their sidewalk embrace she had been silent. When he drove her to her house. Sat in her living room while she dug through her room. On the drive back to the school. Now…

"I'm right here" Tommy breathed into her hair as he stroked it.

"Jamie got hurt" Jude sobbed, her breath catching and breaking up her speech.

"He'll be okay…" Tommy half lied. He had no clue.

"They were his friends!" Jude sobbed. Tommy tensed at those words. Andrews had been friends with the two scum bags that had nearly ended Jude's life? Well if that wasn't another thing to add to the 'I loath Jamie Andrews file' then… "I was so scared…"

"I know" Tommy tried to consol as his insides burned with anger against those two lunatics again.

"But what was worse…" Jude whimpered. She paused and Tommy waited for her to speak as she trembled under his grasp "_Was that I kept thinking that if it was you I would have died right then and there_".

"Jude…" Tommy stumbled. His mind racing at the implications she had just spoken.

"Don't make me go…" Jude sobbed.

"_Where Kat's_?" stumbled Tommy, caught off guard by the change in conversation again.

Jude nodded her head into his chest "She has the flu that's why she wasn't there today".

"Then why did you tell your parents…" questioned Tommy still bewildered by everything.

Jude peeled away and looked him in the face "Because if I told them I was with you…" she swallowed as his mouth went dry "…_then they wouldn't have let me go_".

A thousand rejections seeped up to his mouth. His brain screaming at him that neither of them were in any state to be together tonight. And then his heart remembered what it was like watching her hang out that window – with a gun to her head. And then he squeezed his lips together harder, turned to the steering wheel, gripped it hard, and put it into drive. He didn't look over at her. If he did he might change his mind.

* * *

**Author Note:**

**Back by popular demand! There'll be a few more chapters...so I guess this leads to - where will Jude spend the night Tommy's, Kat's, or alone. Stay tuned and find out!!!!**

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	15. Chapter 15

Jude felt like she was holding her breath as they drove down a path of familiar roads. For a heart sinking moment she realized that they were driving off in the direction of her own house. He was just going to drop her off there. He didn't feel the same way. Stupid. Stupid! STUPID! _How could she be so stupid_?

Then they turned and Jude felt her heart flutter in her chest. She looked at his face anxiously, but it was like it was set in stone. Unreadable. His hand was propping up his head on the open window sill. His other hand driving as cars whizzed by them in the opposite direction. And despite the fact that the night was dark, and his skin seemed to pale in the oncoming headlights…his blue eyes were once again the thing that captivated her attention. They were the same, shimmering, unchanging blues that held her in a trace. That made her love him even more when she looked into him – because it was as if he was looking into her own soul.

Then just as Jude's lips parted to speak he turned into a driveway. It was a one floor apartment on the end of a complex. There were two concrete steps leading up to the front door. The porch light was on. Had he been expecting to come home from recording that night instead of a school shooting? Had he expected to be alone?

"I don't think you remember last time you were here…" Tommy shrugged slightly as he looked at the same things Jude did.

"No" Jude blushed.

"You drunk was funny I'm not going to lie" Tommy added as he looked over at her, but the sarcasm dropped from his voice when he saw her not even see him. "You okay?" he asked seriously, reaching out and touching her hand. "I can still take you to Kat's".

Jude's eyes shifted to his palm on hers and for a split second she wanted to lunge at him right there in the car. Have every inch of her body be touched by his soft delicate skin. She wasn't an idiot – and today had taught her life was too short…

"Come on let's go inside" Tommy sighed quietly, as he took her silence as a rejection to his last offer. He opened his door and stepped out into the night. He waited and then she too opened her door and walked around to stand by him. He could feel the heat radiating off her body as she just stared up at him. And for a second he wanted nothing more than to brush his lips against hers and let her know everything was going to be alright. But he couldn't. She had just been through a traumatic experience. He had worked out on the ride here that he was someone she could trust and naturally wanted to stay with so that she felt safe…_felt safe_, he repeated to himself with a need for conviction.

Instead he shoved his hands into his pockets and pivoted abruptly so that he was striding off towards the front door. He dug out his keys and unlocked the door. All the time feeling her body moving several paces behind his own. He pushed open the door and stepped inside the narrow hallway. The door leading off to the garage perpendicular to the one they had just entered. He flicked on the lights, exposing the bright white walls. He glanced at her, then breathed out audibly, as he walked down the hall. He flicked on the kitchen lights, with the living room attached at the other end. There was only one other door in the room and that led to his bedroom and the bathroom within it.

"So…yeah…this is it as always" Tommy shrugged, before tossing his keys on the large granite island and striding towards the fridge. "I don't really have anything…" he said looking inside.

Jude pushed her palm against the door and Tommy straightened up so that it closed between them "I'm not really hungry it's okay". Her voice was so meek. Tommy felt like he was looking at a different girl, and at the same time the same Jude he had pounded out lyrics with, fought with, lusted…_shut up_.

"_Jude_…"

"Don't…" Jude winced. Her eyes closing, as if she knew the words forming on his lips, or fearing to see the expression etched on his face. "_Can we just talk_?"

Tommy felt as if he had just been hit across the face. And he wasn't sure if it was relief washing over him, or his heart sinking down to his toes. "Yeah…yeah" stammered Tommy "Yeah we can". He walked over to the couches in the living room. One of them acted as a divider between the two spaces, with it's crisp white back facing the kitchen. Jude sat down carefully in the center, and Tommy sat in the corner. She had her hands on her knees, her eyes closed again, as if trying to calm her trembling nerves.

"You're shaking…" Tommy whispered. He wanted to reach out and touch her hand again – but he knew the fire that would spark under his skin.

"They raped two of them…" Jude breathed out bluntly. Tommy just blinked at her "…they said afterwards that they should have _done me_".

Tommy's hands instantly turned into white fists. _If they ever_… "I would have killed them again if they had ever touched a hair on your body…" Tommy seethed.

Jude looked over at him. His expression tight and angered. Her finger tips lifted and drifted to his face. His eyes darting to her instantly. But the soft gaze they shared made him melt against her hands "_You can't fight all my battles_…"

"I'd fight as many as I could…" Tommy countered.

"But you still don't love me" Jude added, blinking at him.

Tommy tensed under her hand, making it fall away. The heat disappearing as he stared at her divided. "Jude you know I can't…" started Tommy.

"Because you're twenty-five and I'm seventeen…" Jude nodded as if she had heard it all before. Her hands went back to her lap. But her eyes stayed glued to his pained expression. "I just never thought you'd date Sadie…"

"J…" Tommy winced.

"No I get it" Jude interjected, her voice growing louder than fading away to the same meek voice as before "She's beautiful and _legal_…"

"Jude…" Tommy said shaking his head in agony.

"It's just that…after my sixteenth birthday I thought that you were going to wait for me…_I'm such an idiot_".

"No, J, no you're not…'" Tommy breathed.

"And I should have known you'd pick her…" Jude choked out.

"It's over" Tommy blurted out. Jude blinked at him confused "I dumped her…right before she left for cheerleading nationals in Quebec…"

"But you never…" stammered Jude.

"I was going to tell you at the studio today" Tommy finished for her.

Jude couldn't breathe, "w…w…why?" Jude stammered.

"You know exactly why" slipped from his lips. His eyes just penetrated through her thin skin, before he slumped back further against the couch. The silence between them grew as moments ticked off. Each of them soaking in what the last had said. "Me and Sadie…we just weren't right…" Tommy shrugged. Jude looked over at him again. Her lips parted slowly as she watched him turn his head towards her. "I want you _so_ bad but…"

Jude's breath hitched in her throat as the open ended sentence lingered unfinished in the air. His eyes locked onto hers and she couldn't look away. Then as her hands trembled she shifted herself to face him. She watched his eyes watch her carefully. Each breath of her own shaky and shallow. Then without letting her mind think about it anymore, her hands slinked down to her hem and she pulled her shirt off.

Tommy was staring at her thunderstruck. But as she dropped it to the floor he didn't protest. Though it did seem like he was gurgling on a few words. "Don't…" Jude whispered, telling him to tuck away the words on his lips. Her hands moved to his shoulders as she straddled his waist. He just looked up at her in horrorstruck wonder as she lowered her lips onto his – and there was fire.

Her lips were even softer than he remembered, and the way they teased his lips made him want to tear off the rest of her cloths. _She's seventeen you idiot!_

"I shouldn't be alone with you" he breathed Tommy, parting their lips. But Jude's eyes were the only thing he saw as he pulled away. Holding him there frozen to the spot.

"I'll be eighteen in two weeks" she whispered.

"You don't want to blow this on me…" Tommy knew in the pit of his stomach, as much as he wanted nothing else than what was on her mind.

"For the past 370 days…" Jude whispered into his ear "I've come to realize you're the only one worth giving it to…"

Tommy blinked, as she kissed the tender skin by his ear. Then he swallowed hard as he forced himself to think about who the blonde, underage, seventeen year old, straddling his lap really was.

"I don't want you to just be another girl" Tommy whispered. His finger's took her chin and forced her to look at him. She stared at him with intent – but he sensed the fear behind her eyes. "I don't want you to do this tonight and wish you hadn't tomorrow morning".

"I was just held hostage Tommy…" Jude said with conviction.

"And are obviously not in the proper state to make educated decisions…"

"Poor choice of words considering it was a chemistry room I was just held in…"

"I don't want to hurt you"

"WHY NOT!" Jude burst "I'm handing myself to you like any other girl before me! Do you think I don't know! Do you think I haven't thought about all this! Worried about all this!"

"I told you I don't want you to be just another girl!" Tommy said through his teeth.

"WHY!" Jude said, fire burning in her eyes as they both got caught up in the moment.

"Because I _DO_ love you, gods damn it!" Tommy yelled, reaching out and pulling her face to his, so that their lips crashed together. Jude was caught off guard, and her heart began to race as his words collided with her brain, and then fire sparked under her skin again as his hands ran over her like some blind man desperately trying to figure out what the image of his lover was.

And then she was melting…melting…_melting_…

Her fingers found the buttons on his shirt and they worked fiercely on them till she shoved the jacket off his shoulder and then the shirt as well – throwing it all to the ground. Her hands went for his jeans when his lips pulled away from her and he took in deep breaths as he looked at her. His blue eyes piercing her. "Are you sure..." he whispered one last time. Jude could feel herself trembling on top of him as she shook her head yes, and then she shifted off him and he went to stand. He grabbed her hand and with a tug pulled her towards the door leading off the kitchen. Stopping only to press his lips to hers again, and pull her into his bedroom with his lips.

The king sized bed was the major peace of furniture in the room, and he guided her over to it blindly as his tongue worked magic on her mouth. Her calves hitting the bed first, letting her slip backwards onto the mattress. And then he was above her, looking down. Them both breathing hard, before his fingers found the button on her jeans and teased it for a moment. She just stared at him – knowing very well where she had led herself tonight. Then as he undid them she trembled again. Then again as they slid off her legs…onto the floor.

His eyes stayed on her face, she knew in _respect she would only get from him_. Then her fingers blindly reached for his and undid them with less grace than he had done hers. Till she was very aware that she was the most sparsely dressed she had ever been around him before.

He leaned down to kiss her delicately again, holding himself up so that all his weight wasn't on her yet. "_You okay_" he whispered.

"You can look you know" Jude whispered back. She could hear the tease on her voice, and Tommy tried to hide the grin on his face, but she saw. His eyes roaming over her sloping pale skin in the dark. Then his fingers traced places she couldn't even explain as the paths erupted in sparks. She reached down between them blindly, and smirked openly as he moaned. Her fingers traced his abs and worked their way down. His forehead dipping and his fingers freezing as he let her take over.

The elastic band of his boxers were the last thing keeping her from him, but she could feel him through the thin fabric as it was. His hands took her pause to slip under her and undo her bra. She held her breath as he lifted it and tossed it aside. The air was cool on her skin, and she watched him look at her.

"_You're beautiful_" he whispered, as if he sensed she might be uneasy, he kissed her again, and in doing so he rid her of her last article of clothing.

"Not bad yourself" Jude teased, into his ear, in the most seductive whisper she had ever heard escape her own lips. Then she sat up slowly, him moving with her till she was sitting on the edge of the bed, and he was standing again. She let her fingers trace his abs again before sliding under the elastic of his shorts and lowering them away. Then very carefully she slid back on the bed, off towards the center, him fallowing slowly, so that as she laid back her head against his pillows he was hovering over her.

His lips met her first, as if trying to resist his need to be with her. As if this was just another kiss between them, but it wasn't. "You're not on the pill…" he breathed knowingly into her lips. Jude shook her head no. Then she felt him shift towards one of the night stands. He pulled open the top drawer and ripped open what common sense told her was smart. His lips met her again, and Jude tried not to imagine what was going to happen next. It wasn't that she didn't want it – it was all that she needed…but it was true that she had never done this before.

"I've never done this before" Jude whispered into Tommy's lips, as he sunk down closer to her skin.

"I know" Tommy whispered back "And you're one hundred percent sure?" he added one last time.

Jude closed her eyes as his skin pressed to hers "_Yes_".

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**Author Note:**

**So people who read my stuff know that 1) that's about as far as it ever goes, 2) Tommy always has the same apartment 3) The 'drunk night' Tommy is speaking about in the car is from my other fic/oneshot - "Think" _(selfless self promotion, please read)_ 4) Reviews from my fans are the most important thing to me when it comes to these stories. So...a few more chapters to come - stay tuned and find out what happens!!!!**

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	16. Chapter 16

It's one of those strange things – waking up knowing you should have never done what you did last night…and at the same time believing with all your heart it was all you ever wanted. Right now was one of those moments. Jude's slender white fingers grasped the cool white comforter, as she watched Tommy's chest rise and fall. His face was slightly smooshed against one of the pillows – with his arm under it and causing it to fall away. But his lips were parted, and each breath seemed whistle, ever so slightly, through his teeth.

The morning light was streaming in through the windows; lighting the wood floors in an amber glow. She could feel it warming her exposed back, and an almost _sad_ smile stayed on her face as she continued to watch him. Every inch of herself felt different as if she had done something out of her usual character. Her toes traced circles in the sheets beneath her feet, but her fingers clutched the sheets harder…before they slipped from her fingers as she sat up.

But even when she was sitting she paused for a moment and watched his sleeping form. It had been proof that she had not dreamed it all up in her own bedroom. No…she had very much so just slept Tom Quincy.

And…that was all it took. Jude slipped out from the sheets and grabbed her clothing off the floor – putting it on as she went. Till her jeans were buttoned once more and her bra clasped tightly in place.

"_Shirt_" Jude whispered, looking around frantically. Her eyes passed over the bed where Tommy still lay peacefully. It sent a pang through her chest before she slipped out into the other room. Grabbed a shirt off the floor by the couch and held it in her trembling hands. The fabric was cool between her fingers, and it smelt just like him. Jude pulled it over her head and smoothed it against her skin, taking one more thing from that night – and leaving her own shirt on the floor.

Then without another backwards glance she scurried down the hall and out through the front door – _as if she had never been there._

The taxi cab she had hailed three roads down from the apartment complex dropped her off on the curb. Jude dug into her wallet and paid hurriedly before walking up the front path and knocking on the door. Jude shivered there as she looked around nervously. The school shooting had seemed to cast a fog over the town. The usual joggers were reduced down to one or two. Dog's barks seemed to echo through the streets like a bad omen. No things were still…and a different pang went through her heart at the thought of it.

Then there were loud pounding footsteps before the door swung open on its hinges and an anxious girl stared back at her.

"_Kat_…" Jude breathed, before her friend lunged at her and held her so tight in her arms.

"I thought I lost you…and Jamie" Kat sobbed into Jude's shoulder, before wrenching away and slapping Jude on the shoulder "Why didn't you call! I thought you'd been shot!" Jude's lips fell down into a frown. Kat noticed it instantly "…who…who was it…" Kat stammered, her hand creeping over her mouth instantly.

Jude could see it in Kat's eye that she already knew, but the words trembled for her lips regardless "…_Jamie got hurt_".

The words echoed in the silence, before Kat's body hit the doorframe and it took over holding up her weight. Jude felt it all crashing over her again, watching her friend take it all in.

"Some week to get the flu" Kat whispered, lifting her tear filled eyes.

"Huh yeah" Jude forced herself to laugh, and then there was silence as she looked down at her sneakers.

"You still in shock?" Kat asked concerned.

"What?" asked Jude, it felt like she was under water, and Kat was at the surface. It was as simple as swimming to the surface…but which way was really up? "No" Jude answered, shaking her head and looking down again "No…I'm…I'm coping" she finally answered.

"Jude…" Kat said slowly. Jude looked up at her, with what she was sure were blood shot eyes from all the sleep she had not had that night. The rumbled clothing she was still in from last night. The clammy skin from the shower she needed. "Did you…" Kat whispered, straightening herself up off the doorframe. Jude watched as Kat glanced over her shoulder into the house then stepped out onto the porch with Jude, closing the door behind herself. "Did you…_you know_" Kat whispered, her eyes wide. They roamed over her messy hair.

"I feel really different" Jude whispered, her voice betraying herself.

Kat's hand jumped over her mouth as she stared at Jude even wider eyed. "You…you _slept_ with him" Kat gasped.

Jude looked away across the lawn "Yeah…" Jude whispered, not looking at her "I did".

"But you're seventeen" Kat hissed on the brink of hysterics. "I thought you were waiting for…" Kat's voice trailed off, and Jude squeezed her eyes closed against the accusation she was sure was about to come "Did he _make_ you?"

Jude looked Kat square in the eyes "No. I think I made _him_".

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**Author Note:**

**Few more chapters...stay tuned to see the exciting conclusion of "Revenge of the Nerds". Add it to you favorites/alerts so that you don't miss a moment! And, as always,....**

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	17. Chapter 17

_She left_. That was all Tommy could think about as he sipped his coffee. The sunlight was streaming through the glass slider near the living room portion of the apartment. The mug in his hands hard and cold beneath his fingers – unlike her skin had been last night. The way her lips had danced across his own, and the way he couldn't fully comprehend how the girl he was head over heels for was really the one staring back up at him. _She was gone_.

The coffee almost tasted bitter on his tongue – except for the fact that it smelled just like her. The way when she would walk by him in the studio it would linger behind her. The way her vanilla shampoo laced into her hair when she leaned over the sound board with it still trapped on her skin. The way her guitar calloused fingers strummed her guitar behind the divider window, and he could still smell her in the air. Sucking in the sweet scent. And then carrying it home with him after she left.

The way that…_sometimes_…if he was so exhausted that he should fall asleep in the cloths he came home in…his sweatshirt might still smell like her…and it was like holding her in his arms. All these things from a cup of coffee. Bitter – on his lips.

Tommy placed the empty mug down in the sink, and cross his arms over his chest again – leaning against the counter surveying the scene in front of him. He could just see her there – a shadow of a thing, on the couch. The way her fingers had traced lines down his skin. Her words spinning up into the air like spun glass…hanging there…sparkling in his deafness.

_He had told her he loved her last night_.

That much registered quite clearly in his mind. Their movements afterwards becoming a bit more hazed. But his skin could tell the story. They remembered exactly where her delicate hands had traveled. Where her lips had rested. What her eyes had seen. His own mind remembering every inch of her skin just the same as his own felt it. And that was then that he wondered if her skin was ringing like his own. Whether she still felt every inch of him as he felt her.

But she was gone, he remembered, and he didn't know why. Her blonde halo of angle hair against his pillow forever etched in his mind. Where was she now? Because that angel could not bee a dream…_that'd be too cruel from such a delicate creature_.

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**Author Note:**

**How will things end? Stay tuned and find out!!!!**

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	18. Chapter 18

She couldn't go home. Not after the expressions Kat's face had went through. She couldn't face her parents right now…let alone _Sadie_. How do you tell your older sister you just slept with her newly ex-boyfriend? How do you lie to her face and say that you had the most traumatic day of your life…and not mention the one thing that's still holding you together. You can't cry when there are no tears to shed. You can't cry when you don't know what to feel.

But Kat had granted her two small solaces. And that was a promise to say that she had spent the night if her parents called and that she was at the studio blowing off some steam – feeling '_oddly inspired'_ from the whole situation. And, she loaned Jude a new day's worth of clothing…that she couldn't bear to take Tommy's shirt off to wear. If this was the closest she would ever get to holding him again…then she wanted to breathe in his scent while it lasted. And pretend that he had meant all the things he had said last night.

G-Major studios was, as always, bustling. The phones were going off the hook behind the receptionist desk, interns running between jobs, and artists waiting for their time to get into the studio. Today there was a lot of commotion, but not a lot of artists. Her eyes scanned the crowds – people clutching newspapers with bold headlines screaming yesterday's events. Jude looked away. Then she strode across the core and took the stairs to Studio A two at a time. Pausing only a moment to make sure no one was inside before closing the glass door behind her and taking her first breath. Finally…_she could breathe_.

The room was deserted, and all the sound proofing blocked out the commotion below. Her footsteps seemed to echo on the linoleum tiles. The chair creaked as she twisted it back and forth with her hand. The clock ticked loudly on the wall. And the silence rang the loudest through her ears. Then without thinking much she walked through the glass door dividing the space in two. She entered the recording area, letting the door slip closed behind herself. Her fingers tracing the first guitar it met before picking it up.

"_Hello old friend_" Jude whispered to the acoustic and sat down on the stool in the center of the space. And she let her fingers break the silence, so that with every breath she could now take…she could start to _think_ as well.

The hours ticked by without her knowing they did. No one seemed to be booked for Studio A all morning. No one entered. No one checked in. She was invisible…and the words slipping from her lips crashed over her and no one else. The song formed itself, like it always did. Except she didn't need paper for this one. Her fingers just knew the tune. Her lips forming the words before her mind knew what it wanted to say.

And so when her voice let go of the last note and the guitar's last echo died from the air she was very surprised to hear anyone at all in the room.

"_I thought I'd find you here_" Tommy's voice broke through the silence. It wasn't loud. It wasn't commanding. It wasn't blunt, sarcastic, or anything at all. It was _soft_…and meant for her.

Jude kept her eyes locked firmly on her lap and the guitar that resided there. Her eyes pinched together as if caught in a blink as his footsteps drew nearer, then paused.

"_J_…" came his unsure voice. Jud felt her breath catch in her throat and it choked her as she willed her eyes to stay closed. "J, look last night…" Tommy attempted again.

Jude's eyes shot open as she looked up at him. His stance was awkward and unsure, as if he couldn't read the signals she was sending him. Jude just stared at him silently and his mouth closed slowly, leaving the sentence unfinished. They stared at each other in the growing silence before Jude turned her face away and looked down at the square of carpet on the recording area's floor.

"Why'd you leave?" came his confused voice through the silence again, breaking it like fine china against tile floor. Jude closed her eyes and bit her lower lip as she continued to fight down the words creeping up her throat. "Jude!" Tommy said more forcefully, but every letter was laced with agony. "Look I'm sorry if…" started Tommy, taking a desperate step forward.

"_Don't_…" Jude breathed, looking up at him. Tommy stopped in his tracks at the sight of her red eyes. "Don't please, I don't want to hear it if you regret it because last night was so…" Jude bit her lower lips again as she shook her head, willing away the tears burning her lower lids.

"Jude…" Tommy whispered, as he watched her fall apart.

"…_last night was perfect_" Jude breathed, as she looked up at Tommy slowly again. Tommy took in a shaky breath as he watched her eyes dig into his own, as her eyes scanned every feature of his face. As if she was trying to etch him into her memory.

"Jude…" Tommy breathed.

"Don't Tommy, please don't say you're…" Jude started before his lips collided with hers. Every thought raced from her mind as his hands gripped her hair and held her lips tightly to his own. "_I just_…" whispered Jude into Tommy lips.

"I know" breathed Tommy into her lips as their lips broke slowly and he rested his forehead against hers. "I don't know what it is you do to me girl" Tommy whispered, running his fingers through her hair as he watched each of their chests rise and fall, as if those last few seconds had been a marathon "…but whatever it is I don't want it to ever go away".

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**Author Note:**

**The End**

**Thank you for reading "Revenge of the Nerds"! Want more? Try "Secrets and the Lies I Told Him" and the in process sequel "Between You and Me". Or if you're just looking for another quick read..."Think" is hypothetically another oneshot from 'earlier' in this same relationship. Thank you guys so much for all the reviews and support. The ending of this book would have never existed without the insistence of all you guys. It came out better than I could have ever imagined. Thank you! So one last time...**

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